2005 Somaliland parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Somaliland on 29 September 2005.^[1] They were the first multiparty parliamentary election conducted in the country.

2005 Somaliland parliamentary election

← 1960 29 September 2005 2021 →
82 seats in the House of Representatives of Somaliland 42 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Dahir Riyale Kahin Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo Faysal Ali Warabe Party UDUB Kulmiye UCID Leader since 2002 2002 2001 Seats won 33 28 21 Popular vote 261,449 228,328 180,545 Percentage 39.00% 34.06% 26.9%
Results by constituency.

Electoral system

The 82 members of the House of Representatives were elected by open list proportional representation with the six multi-member constituencies based on the regions. The number of seats for each region was based on those used for the 1960 elections and multiplied by 2.5.^[2]

Seat allocation by region
Region	Seats
Awdal	13
Maroodi Jeex	20
Sahil	10
Togdheer	15
Sanaag	12
Sool	12
Source: IRI

Campaign

At the time of the elections, the constitution limited the number of political parties to three:

• Peace, Unity, and Development Party (Kulmiye) led by Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, the former President of Somaliland
• For Justice and Development (Ururka Caddaalada iyo Daryeelka, UCID) led by Faysal Ali Warabe
• United Peoples' Democratic Party (Ururka dimuqraadiga ummadda bahawday, UDUB) led by Dahir Riyale Kahin, the former President of Somaliland

A total of 246 candidates contested the elections, including five women.

Conduct

A team of 76 observers from Canada, Finland, Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe monitored the polls. They described that the elections were conducted in a peaceful condition and were generally free and fair, nonetheless, the vote had fallen short of meeting several international standards.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	United Peoples' Democratic Party	261,449	39.00	33
	Peace, Unity, and Development Party	228,328	34.06	28
	For Justice and Development	180,545	26.93	21
Total		670,322	100.00	82
Valid votes		670,322	99.32
Invalid/blank votes		4,585	0.68
Total votes		674,907	100.00
Source: IRI